the lamaze classes and other preps

it's my terrible birthing experience with iñigo, which pushed me to enroll in a lamaze/childbirth class for this pregnancy. as much as possible, i want myself and baby TL to be free from any drugs during the delivery as i blame the epidural anesthesia i had for the low apgar score of iñigo after he came out from me. well... i'm thinking iñigo must also be too groggy from the drugs as i was that time. i'm also leading my family now into a chemical and drug-free lifestyle as much as we can so it's a good idea to start it from birth, right?

 

aside from my desire for natural birth, i also want to avoid the other mistakes that have had happened in my first and one of the biggest mistakes i made by the way was letting iñigo grow big (he’s almost an eight-pounder) while he’s still inside my tummy. with my slim frame, it was a miracle that i was able to deliver him via normal procedure.

 

so for six saturday mornings, jude and i diligently attended the lamaze classes under ms. rome kanapi in santuario de san jose parish center in south forbes, makati, while iñigo was left home with my cousin.

 

the fee is quite pricey as we shelled out php 4,000 for the entire program but that’s nothing with all the practical information and tips we learned from the classes such as prenatal exercises, breathing techniques, preparation of childbirth plan and other details regarding childbirth, which i find very empowering not only for the mothers-to-be but more for the fathers-to-be as it could help them in coming up with an informed decision concerning their partners in any unlikely event... and not just depend on what the doctors will say, you know...

 

but more than the knowledge acquired, what i appreciate more about lamaze is it really  encouraged the guys to get involved in the childbirth experience of their partners—from the   labor stage up to post-partum. the men were made aware of what we feel  and fear.

 

 

 

jude trying out one of the floor exercises taught to us by ms. kanapi

 

 

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aside from preparing ourselves for the delivery day, we have also readied now baby tl’s things such as his crib, clothing, feeding bottles, diapers, etc. i started to shop for his new clothes (as there are also hand-me-downs from his kuya iñigo… can’t help me not to recycle as most still look new) on the day i found out his gender. talk about being excited and shopaholic, haha.

 

 baby TL's nook in our flat

 

one of the first stores we raided is the export overruns store of baby clothings in #48 zodiac st. bel-air, makati city. it's where i bought some of the onesies, frogsuits, and towels. i was happy with my loots especially with one of the frogsuits as i thought i bought it cheap but got disappointed later on when i shopped in landmark and the same towels were selling at a lesser price, hmpf!

 

 

***

aside from all those i mentioned, we are also preparing the big brother-to-be we have in the house, i.e. kuya iñigo, for the the coming of baby TL as i know it would require a major adjustment for him since he’s used in having all our attention. we have already talked about his younger sibling as soon as the pregnancy kit turned positive and encouraged him to kiss, caress, and talk to my tummy as much as possible.

 

 

 

i'm also grateful for this book, which i bought from booksale (or diplomat?) and i have been reading this to him since last year, just one of his books collection...

 

 

i’ve already shared here that iñigo sometimes pretends he’s still a baby--even tried to climb the crib as he insisted that it’s for him--but with the help of the book, we’re able to point out the cribs are for babies only like our baby TL and that he’s the big brother in the book. =)

 

 

iñigo practicing how to carry a baby brother. we brought him with us in the last session of lamaze class... pasado na ba? =D

 

a glimpse of our 2nd baby boy

i asked jude two weeks ago if he's willing to have a 3d ultrasound of baby TL (initials for the name we already have for our second child) since it would cost him 3k and i was happy to hear his "yes!" as he reasoned out that we also had this during iñigo's time.

so last saturday all of us trooped to in my womb ultrasound center and i asked for a biophysical profiling of baby TL in 3d. i was afraid to know that he is underweight for his gestational age but to my surprise his weight is perfectly normal! =) all other parameters were also covered in the profiling and were glad that everything about this pregnancy is going smoothly--thank you, God!

we had to go back though as baby was quite shy and was hiding his face under my placenta, which made it difficult for the sonologist to capture images of him. luckily, he was already cooperating when we went back yesterday and to our heart's delight, baby TL even flashed a smile for us. =D

here are the images we brought home...

it's in the fourth image where the camera or scanner (or whatever gadget you call that) caught baby TL's smile...

compare baby TL's first pix with his kuya iñigo's who's obviously overfed while he's still inside my womb... just look at his cheek...

the 3d image of iñigo was care of makati medical center, btw.

thanks God for babies and thanks God for this new technology. =)

and the other good news is...

yes, we are pregnant again! first trimester actually has already passed and two more trimesters to go and we’re going to have another bundle of joy. =)  after a blighted ovum case and a major false alarm late last year, we decided to hold off the good news first until i’ve already passed first trimester. but i already knew we were pregnant first week of february when i missed my period and a positive pregnancy test confirmed it. i was so sigurista that i made the test three times! hahaha. i also waited for my eight week before i decided to see my ob-gyne and had an ultrasound. and boy, i was crying when i heard my baby’s heartbeat. my doctor was laughing at me when she asked why there were tears  and i answered, “kasi naman po totoo na talagang buntis ako.” hehe.

 

for all those who have guessed before--yes, it’s true... there’s another tot coming in our family! this is really another big blessing for us as we really wanted to give iñigo a sibling this year. and we didn’t wait long till our prayer was answered as we just started to try since october of last year.

 

for those whose events we missed to attend (you know who you are =)), sorry but i had an uncomfortable first trimester. i’m just glad that inspite of this, i still had an uneventful one; no bed rest is needed. but the nausea and heartburn was really forcing me to take more rests now. my lihi stage now was more maselan than during iñigo’s time. if i craved for a lot of food then it’s the opposite this time as i had aversion for food. =( it’s good that my appetite now is starting to pick up.

 

i just hope that my pregnancy will remain smooth and safe until its ninth month. a lot of people are also wishing for us to have a baby girl this time. we also do. but i realized that when you’re blessed and pregnant, to deliver a healthy and normal baby is more than enough.

GOD has giveth, GOD has taketh away

we learned yesterday thru an ultrasound that I AM NO LONGER PREGNANT. my recent pregnancy was anembryonic or i had a blighted ovum. take note that we refuse to say we lose the baby. but still, we are saddened with the fact that our second baby, who i will cuddle and breastfeed again and iñigo will shower with his kuya kisses, is not yet coming.

i just had a research on blighted ovum and this is what i found out:

"a blighted ovum (also known as “anembryonic pregnancy”) happens when a fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall, but the embryo does not develop. cells develop to form the pregnancy sac, but not the embryo itself. a blighted ovum usually occurs within the first trimester before a woman knows she is pregnant. a high level of chromosome abnormalities usually causes a woman’s body to naturally miscarry." (american pregnancy association)

i already had a hint when my first trans-vaginal ultrasound (TVU) result came out--no embryo was seen when in fact i was already six weeks pregnant. i was able to research well on these cases during my first pregnancy; hence, i have an idea. it was only disappointing because my ob who holds clinic in asian hospital waited for another four weeks before she endorsed me for another TVU. we were already dreaming and waiting eagerly for our coming new bundle of joy within the four weeks that passed. not to mention that we have already shouted to the world that we're pregnant again. had we known earlier, the impact should have been less disheartening for us.

but jude and i have gracefully accepted this fact. we just rely on our faith that in HIS time, we will hold another baby that we can call "ours". by that time comes, we will make sure that all of us in the family are ready--me, jude, and iñigo.

 

iñigo is going to be a kuya soon... =D

yes, you read it right… jude and i are gonna be parents of two kids eight months from now! =D

 

i had myself tested this morning and the two lines that appeared in the kit just validated what i was suspecting earlier this week... that we are again pregnant. =D

 

this is a bit earlier than we planned but nevertheless, this baby is very much welcome in the family and we can’t wait to see iñigo being a doting brother to his baby sister…. it’s gonna be a girl as we have already claimed... we even already have a name prepared for her. =D

 

pray that am going to have a safe and smooth pregnancy again this time, please? the first thing that popped in my mind are the numerous concerns we have for this half of the year and i don’t know if i can handle the stress now that we are already pregnant… plus the fact that we have an active and playful toddler inside the house…. super power ang kelangan ko! =D